The supposed Hittite cognate 𒌅𒍖𒍣𒅖 ‎(tuzziš, “army; camp”) with the semantic shift "people" > "army" > "camp" has been criticized to be unlikely (the normal development would be "camp" > "army").[3] Kloekhorst furthermore argues that the Hittite word can formally only reflect an i-stem tewt-i-, and finally endorses an alternative etymology proposed by Melchert, from PIE *dʰh₁-uti-.

Often a derivation from the roots *tewh₂- ‎(“to be strong; swell”)[4] (referring to the strength of community) and *tewH- ‎(“to look favorably; protect; observe”)[5] is considered, but the presence of a laryngeal renders that suspect.[6]